


Goosebumps: Return of the Living Dummy

by Lilyfirefly2468



Category: Goosebumps - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:46:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26045983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyfirefly2468/pseuds/Lilyfirefly2468
Summary: Three years. Three years since Amy Kramer had faced evil in a wooden form and won. It was over. At least, it was supposed to be. Until a familiar face pops up and turns her already upside down life into a twisted rollercoaster. She just couldn't have a normal rest of her life could she? Guess that was just her Kramer luck curse.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the original Goosebumps characters, only my OCs

As her baseball bat knocked against her hip as she walked down the sidewalk, sixteen year old Amy Kramer was alone and lost in thought.  
'Another day another visit to Dr. Mad Scientist.' She thinks, scowling as she remembered Dr. Palmer would be visiting tomorrow. 

Her family saw him. It didn't make sense as to why they'd think she's crazy. It was all normal in her home, when her dad gave her what she wanted. A new ventriloquist dummy named Slappy, with wavy red hair, murky green eyes and a cute tuxedo, to replace her other dummy Dennis, whose head kept falling off in the middle of her acts. Tucked into his pocket were magic words she read aloud 'Karru Mari Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano.' Of course her rotten luck left her with the words bringing the dummy to life and, of course, he turned out to be evil. 

He insulted every one of her family members, and destroyed her older sister Sara's paintings, causing her brother Jed to get in trouble for it.. He even squeezed a little girl named Alica's hand tightly while she and her best friend, Margo were babysitting her. Margo refused to talk to her ever again after witnessing the whole event, despite Amy's attempts to explain. 

He even painted Amy's name on Sara's room wall in red paint. The worst part is Amy always got the blame for it all. She tried to get rid of him by throwing him under the sidewalk in the sewer. 

Of course he came back and the little rat trekked gross sewer mud in the house to get to her room. When he confronted her, he revealed the words she read from the paper meant "You and I are one now". He tried to enslave her, but Amy managed to knock him over and hide with Sara. When the two remembered Jed was alone downstairs and the two ran down to find both him and Slappy. 

When Slappy managed to corner Amy, they thought Jed saved her by knocking Slappy over. However, Dennis was alive and he was the one who slammed Slappy over and broke him over the fireplace. You'd think after all of that, her whole family would come together and help her recover, and they would all be close and happy again. 

'I wonder how Dennis is doing...' Amy thinks.  
She was drawn from her thoughts as some kids run pass her, crowding around a small boy who was pulling something along the ground, tied to his bike. Amy blinked in surprise, her brows furrowing at the thought of it being a poor animal they were treating that way. 

"Hey!" She waves her bat and rushes over in their direction.  
The children look and run and the boy who was riding the bike jumps off and runs, leaving whatever it was tied to the bike still. Amy walks over and kneels in front of the lump.  
"Poor thing..." She reaches and turns it over, then flies back in shock.  
There he was, the same wavy red hair, carved smile and tuxedo.

'Slappy!'

Amy slowly uses her bat to poke the dummy, but he didn't move.  
'...maybe he's dead? Or asleep? What's he even doing here? Why do I care?!'  
Amy gets up fast to get away from the haunted doll, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to walk away, turning back to look at the dummy.  
'...ah splinters...'  
_________________________________________

"Is that you Amy?" Sara calls from the living room where she chose to paint for some reason.  
"Yeah!"  
Amy shuts the door behind her, the dummy pressed firmly to her shoulder. Curse her soft heart. Of course when she looked at his dirty face and realized she alone knew how dangerous he was, she couldn't leave him for some poor kid to pick him up. Sara gets up and walks over to see her, and drops the palette she was holding in shock.

"What is he doing here?!"  
"Takin' a nap." Amy couldn't bite back a snarky reply as she puts her bag down and slips her shoes off.  
"Amy!"  
"What? Look he needed help okay? These kids were dragging him around like he was some piece of trash."  
"Couldn't he have gotten help somewhere lost in a cave in Africa or something?!"  
"Oh pipe down." Amy carries him upstairs with her bag.  
"I'm telling Dennis!"  
"Whatever." 

She looked and saw Jed's door shut tight, then heads into her own room, and puts Slappy to lay on her bed.  
"Deja vu all over again." She mumbles and goes into her bathroom to take a shower.  
Could she sell him? Nah. She couldn't burden a poor soul with that annoying piece of wood. She laments what to do under the warm shower, chewing her lip. Was he even awake? What if she took away the magic paper? Was he safe to have? Maybe she should sell him to some antique store. 

She stepped from the stall with a towel around her, thoughts filling her head as she slips on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.  
"Maybe I should just chuck him like a normal person would do to a haunted doll." She mutters and steps out the bathroom, only to nearly fly back in surprise.

The dummy was sitting upright, his back to Amy as he slowly looked around the room in sheer curiosity, then he turns and stares her down.  
"...you're awake." She says lamely, shutting the bathroom door.  
Slappy seemed surprised at her reaction, then suddenly he shifts and turns fully towards her. 

"Is that any way to greet your new master slave? Show some respect." Slappy quips his brows slamming down as he let's out a shrill laugh.  
Any fear in Amy when she first saw him was gone and replaced with simple annoyance. Hard to believe she was actually scared of him once. 

Suddenly his head turns and his eyes land on the white bench sitting in the corner of her room, and his brows raise suddenly, almost giving him a surprised appearance, but there was somehow, something almost like emotion in his eyes, as if they lit up with recognition, then he turns to look at her again, staring at her before finally opening his mouth to speak. 

"Amy?"

She was surprised that he didnt realize it was her. But something just seemed different. He sounded shocked, kind of like he was in disbelief that she was even before him.  
"Who else would it be?" She asks with a snort, her hand on her hip.

He slowly looks her up and down and then gets off the bed.  
"Why'd you bring me here? Or have you changed your mind about my offer?"  
"No way. I just wanted to help."

What's the catch?"  
"Not much of a catch really." She shrugs slowly, looking at his ripped jacket, then kneeling and tugging it. 

"Hey! You'll tear it! This is my best suit!"  
"It's already muddy and torn." She retorts, reaching and pulling the jacket.  
He grunts but gives in and let's her pull it off.  
"I'll lend you some of Dennis' clothes." She says and pulls his bowtie off. 

Before Amy could go any further, the door flies open, slamming against the wall as Dennis threw it open.  
"Dennis!" Amy scolded.  
The smaller dummy looks at Slappy and he runs at him. This time, the other was ready and he catches Dennis' wrists and tosses him aside, making him stumble into the closet door. 

"Enough!"

The anger in Amy's voice was enough to send a shiver up any creature's spine. Dennis slowly got up, looking at Slappy in what Amy could only guess was disgust.

"Why is he here?" Dennis asks, his Southern accent thick with anger as he motions to Slappy.  
"Dennis. He needed help-"

"So what? Coulda just chucked him in the sewage pipe. Maybe Pennywise would've helped him."  
"You're banned from having long conversations with Sara if I'm not there." 

Slappy seemed quite bored about the whole situation as Amy kneels in front of him and pulls his shoes off next, then removes his red sash from around his waist, white shirt and finally his pants, leaving him in his little black shorts.

She then throws the clothes aside and gets a wet towel, wiping the dried mud from his wooden body.  
"Amy Sara's calling your parents..." Dennis says slowly.  
Amy simply purses her lips and continues cleaning off the redhead in front of her 

"Amy!"  
"Dennis I am not in the mood to argue with you or Sara right now. If you aren't going to be of any help then you can just go outside." Amy says sternly.  
Dennis flinches from her tone and looked at his shoes. 

"But Amy..." He tries to argue weakly, but she gives him a sharp glare, then goes back to cleaning Slappy up.  
The older dummy gives Dennis a look, and it was most likely a smug one given Dennis' clearly annoyed grunt. 

"Look she brought it back!" Sara threw open Amy's room door, revealing the horrified expressions of Mr. and Mrs. Kramer.  
Jed rushed over, his jaw dropping in shock as Slappy turns his head to look at the family.  
"Yo."  
_________________________________________

Amy had simply ignored her terrified family and brings some of Dennis' spare clothes for the dummy. He sits as she takes his clothes to be washed, inspecting the jeans and red sweater. Mrs. Kramer grabbed onto her husband's arm in shock, her eyes comically wide as her mouth opened and closed, but something came out. 

Mr. Kramer was looking between his daughter and the evil ventriloquist dummy on her bed.  
"Dude you brought him back." Jed says, looking Slappy up and down as if he was some kind of rare exhibition.

"Amy! Is this some kind of joke?!" Her mother finally shrieks. 

"With the looks on your faces it's a joke to me." Slappy says, then his creepy laugh erupts from his mouth.  
Mrs. Kramer clutched her husband almost weakly. Amy comes back and gives Slappy a disapproving look, hitting him gently with the rag in her hand. 

"I see you still have no manners." She says sternly.  
"Please. Thank you. May I? Beg your pardon. Good evening-" He started but she uses her hand to clamp his bottom jaw up.  
"Shut up."  
"You know that won't stop me." He says perfectly with his mouth shut tight.  
Amy stared at him with a deadpan expression then takes the clothes from him.

"Amy what is the meaning of this?" Her father demands, holding his sobbing wife.  
"This is a general word." Amy mutters sarcastically, kneeling and wiping any remaining dried mud from the dummy's joints.  
Slappy rolls his eyes and gets off the bed, sending her scuttling back in surprise. 

"I see this family's still irritating as ever." He says, looking in their direction.  
Amy looks from the clothes she's unfolding when she hears him get off the bed. Dennis looked, poised to jump on Slappy but the older dummy seemed uninterested in him. 

"Finish with my clothes slave." Slappy turns to Amy.  
"Its Amy. Spell it with me. A-M-Y. Got it termite-brain?" She says in annoyance.  
Her mother had run downstairs and was soon talking hysterically. Mr. Kramer had followed his wife. Amy paid no attention until she heard five words.

"She brought it back doc!" 

Amy looks and throws down the clothes in her hands, storming downstairs into the kitchen with Sara and Jed trailing after her.  
"You don't have to call a stupid doctor!" Amy yells as her mom put the phone down.  
"Amy." Her father starts sternly 

"I'm tired of you all treating me like a nut case!"

"Then stop acting like one stupid!"

"Stay out of it Sara!" 

"Amy that's enough! We're taking you to Dr. Reece!" 

"Dad this is so unfair!"

"He ruined Sara's paintings and got Jed in trouble!"

"But mom-!"

"I'm still here." Slappy quipped from near Amy, still in his shorts only.  
His unexpected appearance sent Mrs. Kramer screaming as she picks up the scissors on the kitchen island, squeezing it hard enough to draw blood as she fumbles and points it at the dummy.

With a snap of his finger, the scissors flew from her hand and he caught it by the blade.

"Rude." He says.  
Mr. Kramer looks and held his wife's hand, looking at the bleeding cut as she held onto him. Slappy himself eyes the cut, then he looks at the scissors and sees the blood smeared on his hand from the blade.  
"...oh...shi-." 

Suddenly, with a loud bang, a white light blinds the Kramer family and a force sends them all flying in different directions. Amy barely had any time to react as she was thrown into the cabinet and felt her vision go black.  
_________________________________________

Amy slowly opens her eyes, a high frequency ringing in her ears. She rubs her eyes to clear her blurry eyesight. She makes out Jed and Sara slowly getting up like her, then she sees a small form standing on the stairs.  
'Dennis...' 

His eyes were wide in shock, his jaw slacked as much as the joints would let it be. She turns her head and sees her mother trying to get up, her father rubbing his head. Amy couldnt make out what they were saying. She did a head count again and realized she just counted six people excluding herself. 

In her peripheral vision as she was slowly able to see properly again, was the body of a pale skinned boy in only a pair of black shorts laying face down on the floor, his limbs sprawled like a starfish. Jed got up and he slowly used his foot, since he was the closest, and turned the boy over. The boy's eyes flew open just as Jed kneeled to see if he was alive, making him fly back.

Amy blinks as the boy's murky green eyes stare at the ceiling from under his smoking dark hair. His slender fingers slowly moved as he sucked in a deep breath and sat up, standing up on his gangly legs as he manages to hold himself upright, then he flicks his hair around with his hands, ash falling out and soon his dark hair looked more red. 

Amy narrows her eyes a bit at him. Green eyes. Reddish hair. Freckles on his cheeks and across his nose. It couldn't be. When he noticed he was being stared at, he stopped and looked around at the shocked occupants in the room. 

"What?"  
His brash yet smooth voice startled the Kramers from their frozen state of shock. Mrs. Kramer screams for what felt like the millionth time that day. Jed scrambled behind Amy in surprise who's eyes widened as she recognized the person before them.

"Slappy?"  
His lips curl into a sneer, revealing his pearly white but human teeth.  
"The one and only."


	2. Chapter 2

Slappy was now sitting in the living room of the Kramer house, the Kramer family sitting on the couch, eyes on him as he picked the lint on a pair of jeans he was given that belonged to Jed, his other hand toying with the sleeve of a sweater also belonging to Jed.

"So...you mean if you come into contact with human blood it force activates an ability to shift into a person? Like a powerup in Mario?" Jed asks, staring at Slappy.

"What's a Mario?"  
"Video game."  
"Whatever. Basically that's how the spell works." He fixes the shirt neck as it slips forward.  
Amy sat quietly with Dennis on her lap, her hand in his hair. 

"Hey Dennis can you do that?" Jed asks.  
"He can't. He's too young. He can't even teleport yet." Slappy answers for him, his finger curling the red curl hanging in the center of his forehead.   
"Why are you here?" Mrs. Kramer asks, staring at him coldly.

Slappy looked at her, an uninterested look on his face, before he looks pointedly at Amy.  
"I don't know."   
Amy chews her lip. Why did she bring him back? He caused so much misery to come to her. He didn't even seem remorseful that he ruined her life! 

"How could you bring him back?!" Mrs. Kramer screams at her.

Was it Amy's imagination or did Slappy's eyes harden a bit when her mother shouted at her.  
"Answer her already unless as usual you have no reason for acting the way you do!" Sara cries at her.   
Amy's mouth trembled, opening and closing but nothing came out. 

"Sara don't yell at her!" 

"Shut up Dennis!" 

Amy flies up, nearly throwing Dennis off her lap.  
"Do not yell at him!"

"Oh so now you talk?! I swear something is wrong with you!"  
"Nothing is wrong! You're just so busy being a selfish prick you can't even realize-"

"Selfish?! Me?! You're the one who brought that thing back here!" 

"At least he can sit quietly and not squeal like some pig-"

Sara's hand connected with Amy's face, but it wasn't the slap that shocked the family. It was Slappy. In an instant he was on his feet and with a snap of his finger, a wave of green energy blasts them all off their feet, the snap echoing in the house as he lowers his fingers. Amy took the opportunity to grab her bag and Dennis and stormed out the door, ignoring her mother's calls.

"Amy..."  
"I'm okay Dennis." She looks at the smaller dummy and puts him in her backpack, then continues walking.  
"So where are you going?"   
Not that she'd ever admit it, but Amy nearly leaped sky high when Slappy spoke from next to her. 

"You're following me?"  
"You expect me to stay with your rowdy mother and sister?" Slappy wrinkles his freckled nose and then looks ahead.  
Amy sighs, knowing he wouldn't leave so she kept walking towards a small cafe, holding onto her bag straps. 

Slappy let her sit and went ahead to get something for her. If she wasn't so angry at Sara, she'd probably be gaping at him for doing something so nice.   
"Amy I want ice cream...please?"  
Amy turns to the pair of brown eyes gazing at her from her bag.   
"Slappy'll get you an ice cream." 

Dennis mumbled something about poison but Amy was too busy watching Slappy now. How was he even paying for what he ordered? He was a dummy after all. Of course he pulled a wallet from his pocket and was gazing ahead, seeming rather bored of his surroundings. She almost contemplated going over to him. 

"Hello? Earth to Amy?" She blinks, now realizing she was staring and Slappy was in front of her, holding out a chocolate ice cream cone.

Dennis was holding his vanilla, still hidden in the bag, but pleased.   
"Thanks...how'd you pay?"  
"With my money. You think I'm broke?" He chuckles, sitting across from her with a strawberry cone.

Amy tilts her head curiously, now getting a good look at the dummy-now-turned-boy. His thick curly red hair, some hanging on his forehead with a chunk right between his perfectly done eyebrows; freckles scattered across his perfectly straight nose and slightly plump rosy cheeks, his delicately folded fingers that looked like they haven't done a day's work in their time of existence; his slightly parted smooth lips, oh, there was a small scar on his bottom lip, barely noticable; his cinnamon eyelashes fluttering over his greyish green eyes. 

His eyes. When he had used his magic earlier, they changed. Amy could never forget when he looked at her before his eyes changed back. They had turned a brilliant emerald green. It was beautiful.   
"Your ice cream is melting." His voice snaps her back into reality and she looks, groaning as she realizes there was chocolate running down her hand.

"Today just isn't my day." She grumbles as she wipes her arm.  
"Maybe its that or maybe its the fact that you were busy staring holes into me." He says, still not looking up from his cone.   
"I wasn't staring at you! I just...got lost in my thoughts." Amy crosses her arms, feeling her face get hot from being caught. 

Slappy now lifts his gaze to her and tilts his head. Now that he wasn't wooden and carved, it was easy for his now human face to betray his amusement. Amy kicks him under the table, but he barely flinches. 

"By the way you owe me ten bucks. Each."   
There's the asshole. She viciously bites into her ice cream, glaring at the cone. She still has to go home, which meant she has to face her parents and her dumb sister. She looks at Slappy.  
"Why'd you help me anyway? You loved tormenting me."   
"Its only fun when I do it."

Moron.

Amy looked at Dennis who was licking his fingers.   
"Why'd you follow me?"  
"I told you. I don't want to be with your hellish family."  
"They're not hellish!"  
"Debatable." 

She looks back at her cone.  
"Why...why'd you really help me?"   
His eyes never left his own ice cream.   
"I'm in my own predicament here. Until I can turn back I can't go anywhere like this."  
"So you're using me for shelter."  
"Pretty much. Whether I want to or not...I'm stuck with you. And you're stuck with me." 

Thats just her Kramer luck.  
_________________________________________

'I can't believe I have to spend the weekend with this creep.'

Those were the only thoughts running through Amy's head as she lay flat on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
Dennis was sitting on the floor toying with her phone, while Slappy was on her window sill, staring out at the street.

He was surprisingly quiet when they returned. Amy avoided her family and their questions, going to her room. She didnt even bother to ask when Slappy just appeared near her on the floor. 

Dennis still didnt want the other dummy anywhere near her, glaring at the older of the two from time to time. Slappy of course paid Dennis no mind. His size probably gave him much more leverage over the smaller dummy. 

Amy glances at him too, he was facing away from her and looking out, the window shut from the rain they barely missed. There was a child outside in a raincoat, splashing along the road while his father scolded him and ordered him to come inside.

Sometimes Amy wished she could do that. Go out and play with no cares or worries. But here she was.   
"Amy can I go outside too?"  
"Dennis the last time you got wet your joints locked up..."

Amy hated denying Dennis anything but one pain was enough. Slappy suddenly sits up and then looks at Amy as her father knocks on her room door.  
"Amy? He's downstairs."  
"Coming dad..."

"I smell a rat."   
Amy looks, watching Slappy's face contort in a disgusted scowl, his gaze piercing hers.   
'Does he ever blink?'  
"Its my doctor."

His scowl seemed to deepen and he simply crosses his arms as she gets up.   
"Stay here. And behave."  
"Stay here and behave!" He mocks her and waves his hand, propping his legs up on the wall.

Amy could feel another headache coming on as she rubs her head and puts Dennis to sit on the bed, then turns to downstairs just as Dennis glared at Slappy.

"This is your fault."  
"Bite me midget."  
_________________________________________

Amy felt paralyzed. Her legs locked up when she got to the last step, clenching her fists. 

'...what am I going to say?'

With a deep breath, she slowly walks into the living room. Sara was sitting on the recliner, eyeing her. Her mother was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief as if some tragedy occurred while her father comforted his wife. Jed was on the loveseat playing on his Nintendo, uninterested. And there was the face Amy dreaded the most.

Dr. Palmer was an average height, skinny man, gray hair on his head and round glasses resting on his round nose, watching her with those dark eyes of his as if he could see through her very soul. 

Jed didn't like him either. He hated the way the doctor would pressure her into questions and stare her down.

"Amy. Its nice to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same." Jed mumbled, earning a sharp jab from his father. 

Amy sat across from Dr. Palmer in the chair from the dining room. Her palms were already sweating under the man's scrutinizing stare. 

"Your mother...called me about some very distressing news Amy. She claims that all our progress has been wasted and that you've brought back this...doll that spiked your imagination in the first place."

Amy wanted to sink into the floor. What was she supposed to say?  
"It needed cleaning and...well it was a way to earn quick cash. It was an antique..." 

Not a total lie. She just hoped Slappy didn't hear that part. 

"I see so you brought it...to sell it."  
"Yes..."  
"Not to keep and play with?"  
"No..."  
"Splendid! I was hoping you'd bring it for me to take a look."

Yikes! Dilemma! Should she lie through her teeth in hopes of distracting him? Or risk it all and tell the truth?

'Hey Dr. Palmer so I can't show you the dummy because he came into contact with human blood so now he's a human for God knows how long soooo.'

Yeah. That'll surely earn her a free ticket to the front row seat of a bus to the mad house.

"I...er...you want to see it?"  
"Well your mother tells me you still have it. I want to check for anything strange. Maybe a radio...camera. Symbols."

Amy was thunderstruck. It was all a set up! Her mother knew she couldn't show Slappy to Dr. Palmer now! She's being forced into a corner to come clean to a man who won't believe her! 

"Is there a problem Amy?"   
"N-no...I'll go get him..."

Her feet felt like they gained thirty pounds each as she trudged to the stairs, catching Jed's worried gaze. She didn't blame him. Slappy was human and even if he wasn't, he'd probably act out for fun. Either way, Amy was doomed.

'Curse my Kramer luck!' 

She opens her room door.

"Slappy!"

The redhead was dangling Dennis by his leg outside the window.  
"...he started it."  
"Put him down you jerk!" 

She snatches Dennis from him, then notices evidence on Slappy's fleshy hand that Dennis bit him, but said nothing about it.  
'Creep probably deserved it.'

"What do you want now anyway?"  
"Dr. Palmer wants to see the dummy I bought home. You're sure there's no way you can turn back?"

"...I can-"  
"You can!?"  
"For. A few minutes."

Drat. Here she was hoping she could throw him out if he could've turned back all this time.

"Great...that'll do just...just turn back." She motions to him.  
"No."  
"Why not?!"  
"Why should I help you? You won't be my slave. I'm not getting anything out of it." He sneers. 

'Wait till I strangle you in your sleep you two-faced jerk!'   
"I'll be taken away to some facility!"  
"So?"  
"Then you'll either have to leave...or stay with the rest of my family. I'm sure sharing a room with Jed or even Sara won't be a problem for you."  
_________________________________________

"I was wondering what took you so long. I was worried you weren't able to convince him to join us but here he is." Dr. Palmer looks up, clearly joking.

Jed's jaw dropped open, their mother's jaw tight at the sight of the limp dummy in her arms.

"What can I say? He's quite the deal maker."


	3. Chapter 3

Ignoring her mother's furious look, Amy set Slappy in Dr. Palmer's arms, sitting and watching as he turned the dummy around slowly, inspecting it.

"Interesting bit of woodwork. Finest I've ever seen. Looks life-like." He says, making Amy blanch.

She held her breath when Dr. Palmer lifted the back of Dennis's sweater she pulled on and proceeded to stick his hand in Slappy's back! 

Jed watched with a comically shocked expression while Amy fidgeted slowly as the doctor fiddled with the strings that controlled his face, though she's pretty sure that angry look he had for a second wasn't because of the strings.

He turned the wooden handle that turns the dummy's head in interest and looks at the inside.

"You have a very unique talent Miss Kramer."

"Th-thank you..."

She didn't mean to sound nervous but honestly she was kind of worried for the doctor. Suddenly she heard a loud snap and looked in horror as Slappy's jaw slackened completely. Jed's nintendo slips from his hands, but he was frozen in place.

"...oh dear. I pulled that too hard." 

"Th-thats okay! Piano wire! Easy to fix..." 

Slappy stayed limp as Dr. Palmer handed him back to Amy.

"Well I don't see anything indicating tampering or witchcraft Mrs. Kramer."

Amy refused to look at her mother, looking at Slappy's hanging jaw. She zoned out, hurt by her parents and their decision. They actually thought she was mad. 

Then again. She did have a living dummy on her lap.

"...-medication. Okay Amy?"

She lifts her gaze as Dr. Palmer placed a small bottle of pills in her hand. 

"Thank you Dr. Palmer..."

"I'll check in with you in three days. Any complications just give me a call." 

With that, Mr. Kramer got up to lead Dr. Palmer to the door. Mrs. Kramer had a stern expression on her face. Mr. Kramer eventually returned and sat near his wife. 

"Well that went well."

Amy looks at the still limp dummy then his jaw and frowns. 

"...Slappy?"

"...OOOOOOOOOWWWWW!"

_________________________________________

"Ah canc giliege lat dun goctow groke ny gaw."

"...what did he say?" 

"I don't know Jed..."

Slappy couldn't hold his dummy form any longer and nearly turned back on Amy's lap. Now he was laying flat on the ground, his jaw slack and unable to close. He had to wait a while before he could turn back into a dummy for Amy to repair the string in his head.

Adding to his annoyance was the fact that when he turned back, he ripped the clothes he was wearing and was almost naked once again in front of the family. Amy silently thanked God that his black shorts stretched with him. 

Sara watched from afar while her mother probably went to cook her rage away. Mr. Kramer took pity on Slappy, trying to fix the jaw but to no avail. Jed was crouched on one side of him, Amy on the other. 

As for Dennis, he came down to see what the noise was about and was shamelessly snickering at the older dummy's predicament.

Amy herself wanted to laugh, seeing him in such a vulnerable state, but didn't want to take the risk. His human legs might catch up with her faster than his dummy ones. And that's saying something because the creep wasn't easy to catch as a dummy. 

"...does it hurt?"

Slappy gave Jed a look and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what do you think?' 

"The sooner you turn back the sooner I can fix the string." Amy looks sympathetically.

Honestly, as much as he probably deserved it, having his jaw slack like that for so long must be super painful, plus he was forced to lay on the cold tile without clothes.

Suddenly his entire body began to shrink, his flesh melting away to reveal the wood underneath.

Amy quickly turned him over and reached into his back, replacing the wire inside his head. Jed peered into the back with interest, eyeing the strings and levers. 

"...think if we cut him open as a human he'll look like this?"

"Sometimes I think it's you who needs therapy."

With that, Amy pulls her hand from Slappy's back and his body stretched again, flesh forming over the stretched wooden limbs, his hair slowly springing to locks again. Amy shuddered. Now that she wasn't knocked out, seeing the transformation was actually weird and borderline gross. 

'I wonder if he really does have a real skeleton...or if its all parts on the inside.' 

Slappy sat up and worked his jaw, looking very annoyed.

"You owe me big time Kramer."

"Consider it your way of paying me back for ruining my life three years ago."

"Oh bite me fish breath."

Jed snickers and tries to cover it up by coughing. Sara was watching Slappy as if she was expecting something big but he just got up and flexed his jaw. 

"So that's the doctor that thinks I'm a part of Kramer's imagination." 

"Dr. Palmer? Yeah he's a weirdo." Jed shrugs, passing Slappy a large sweater he was holding for him.

Out of all the family members, Jed was taking Slappy's presence the best, perfectly calm around the haunted dummy-boy. Then again, Jed didn't actually witness the magnitude of damage Slappy caused. 

Amy envied Jed's ability to just nonchalantly accept ongoings around him. How he manages to not give a single damn is beyond her. Jed looks and realizes his precious game is on the floor and picked it up. 

"Wanna play Slappy?"

"That's my line kid. What even is that?"

"Its my Nintendo...y'know video games? You've never played a video game?" 

"Why would I ever have the need to play a video game? Does it have any necessary survival skills to teach or something?"

"...I mean...if you play Dead by Daylight maybe..."

Amy turned to her father, blocking out their conversation. 

"Dad how could you let mom do that? What if Slappy couldn't turn back?"

"Amy...we're worried about you-"

"Are you? Because you just pushed me into one of the most anxiety causing situations I've ever been in." 

Mr. Kramer had the decency to look ashamed for a moment, before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Amy. We can't understand what could possibly posses you to bring that dangerous toy back here."

"I didn't want anyone else to pick him up and wake him. At least I knew what he was capable of." 

Jed shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly went upstairs to avoid the conflict. As much as he loved his family, their fights were overbearing. 

"If you hadn't brought that thing back this never would've happened!" Sara looks.

Slappy gave her a threatening glare at that and she made a strange squeaking noise as the redhead promptly turns and wanders out of the living room, probably to do exactly what Jed was doing.

Amy scowled at Sara and scooped Dennis up gently, heading for the stairs.

"Amy!" Her father looks.

She turns back to look at him.

"What?"

"We just...want to help you."

"Then talk to me and stop getting other people to try and deal with your problems." 

With that, Amy retreated to her room.

_________________________________________

Dennis didn't really know what else to do as he helplessly watched Amy lay miserably on her bed. She was always upset after Dr. Palmer's visits. 

He loved seeing her happy and smiling, telling corny jokes that he'd laugh at. Amy was his whole world. She practically raised him after she discovered he was alive. 

"Amy?"

No reply.

"Amy please don't be upset..."

She didn't even turn to look at him. Dennis's shoulders slumped as he trudged out the room and into Jed's room where Jed lay, texting.

"Jed?"

"Hey Dennis. What's up?"

"Amy's sad..."

Dennis watched Jed sigh deeply and lift himself off the bed and head into his older sister's room, the smaller dummy toddling after him.

Jed sat on the bed beside Amy, putting a hand on her side and rubbing it up and down. Dennis climbed up on the bed and sat near Amy.

It hurt to see her this way. Dennis twisted the ends of his sweater in his small wooden hands. He wanted to scream. He wanted to point at Slappy and yell at him. To blame him. To tell him that this was all his fault. But he had to swallow the bitter truth.

Maybe Slappy did horrible things to Amy, but it was her own family pushing her to the brink of nervous breakdowns. Slappy may have traumatized her as a child, but her parents didn't offer her the support she needed, instead dropping her in a stranger's arms who didn't sit well with Dennis. 

Sara was worse. She was the only person Amy could've relied on for the truth, but she didn't want to be labeled like Amy, shrugging off the whole situation so her parents wouldn't put her in therapy as well.

It made Dennis grit his teeth to think that Slappy of all people pitied Amy's situation. He was a monster. An evil, cruel, manipulative, heartless monster. And yet here he was bailing Amy out of a situation she never belonged in. 

Even Jed had changed. He was forced to grow up with his parents full attention on Amy. They hardly ever had time for him. It was always Amy, Amy, Amy. Sara of course didn't need the attention anymore so it didn't bother her. But Jed, while Amy detested the attention she received, he craved it.

He was starved of any attention after the whole fiasco, even acting out a couple of times in hopes of getting his parents to give him some time of day but to no avail. Eventually he gave up and just went about his life quietly.

A shuffle in the doorway made Dennis turn his head to Slappy, leaning against the doorframe as he took in the scene before him. Dennis glared at him the best he could, but his green eyes were transfixed on Amy's back.

Jed looked as Slappy suddenly disappeared from the doorway. 

"Where'd he go?" Jed looks and Dennis shrugs.

_________________________________________

"Your next client is at 10 tomorrow doc!"

"Thank you Leslie."

Dr. Palmer entered his office quietly, sitting in his chair behind the desk, thinking about his client, Amy Kramer. Poor child. She was so insecure she made up imaginary friends. He'd need to watch her very carefully with that doll.

Turning on his lamp and opening some files, he begins writing, too distracted to notice the shadow in the corner of his office.

"Hello doctor."

The pen in his hand slipped from his grasp in surprise, and he looks around. 

"Wh-who's there?" 

No answer. The doctor stood up defiantly. 

"Leslie!?" 

An eerie laugh echoes in his office as he notices a pair of glowing green eyes staring at him from the darkness. 

"Wh-who are you?"

"Your. Worst. Nightmare." 

Doctor Palmer watched in horror as the tuxedo clad redhead practically materialized from the darkness.

"What do you want? Nobody should be in here after hours. Please step out quietly or I'll call security." 

"There will be no need for that. I already took care of your phone line."

A chill ran up the back of the doctor's neck as he watches the redhead slowly move to the front of his desk.

"I said what do you want!?" Dr. Palmer stood, pushing down his fear.

"I want you to stay away from Amy Kramer." 

"A-Amy? How do...my clients are strictly confidential! I don't know who you are but when I get a hold of the police-!" Dr. Palmer reached for his cell phone, only to see the redheaded stranger wave it in front of his face.

"This is your last warning. Stay away from Amy Kramer. If I catch you anywhere near her again you will regret it." 

"I won't stand for your threats any longer! Get out of my office!" Dr. Palmer points to the door with a trembling finger. 

"Will you stay away from her?"

"Of course not!" 

"Wrong answer."

Dr. Palmer picked up a letter opener and pointed it at the redhead, sweat rolling down his face.

"I won't tolerate this anymore! Leave or I'll make you! You can't do anything to me! There's security cameras outside!" 

Dr. Palmer was suddenly thrown back in his chair by an invisible force, staring up as the redhead jumps on his desk.

"Wh-who are you?"

A terrifying grin grows on the young man's face. 

"The name's Slappy. But you won't remember that. Not when I'm done with you."

"Wh-what?" 

'Chirp.'


	4. Chapter 4

Amy woke up to sunlight on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a peaceful sleep. Craning her neck, Amy smiled at the sight of Jed sprawled across her bed, snoring and hugging Dennis like a teddy bear. 

'Of course they stayed.' 

Amy carefully sat up and stretched, then turned and was met with a peculiar sight. Sitting on her window sill was Slappy, his feet propped up and arms crossed. His head was leaned against the glass of the window, eyes closed. 

'He stayed with me too?' 

Amy slowly got off the bed and walked as quietly as she could to the dozing redhead's side. Well, at least he looked asleep. Her eyes traveled to his now exposed neck and she notices a small chain resting on his bare neck, trailing down into the sweater he was wearing. 

Unable to waver her curiosity, she reached slowly to pull the necklace from the sweater, wanting to see what was hanging on the end, but a solid grip clamped onto her wrist. 

"Don't touch the merchandize." 

Amy froze at that and looked to find Slappy's gaze on her. Then she realized that it was his hand on her and jumped back. 

"...I er...noticed your...um...necklace..."  
"It's a family heirloom."  
"...right..." 

The two proceeded to just stare at one another before Slappy turned his gaze outside, fumbling with the sweater he stole. 

"I need to buy clothes for you..."  
"No kidding. Why the hell does Jed have so many sweaters?"  
"You could just wear a normal t-shirt..."  
"Doesn't fit." 

Amy fumbled with her hands for a moment. 

"Thank you." She blurts, earning a raised eyebrow, "for playing along in front of Dr. Palmer."  
"...whatever."  
"...do you ever respond properly to anything positive?"  
"If they're about my looks? Definitely."  
"So...rarely."  
"...you're walking on eggshells Kramer." 

Amy surprisingly didn't feel threatened. If anything, this felt more like a friendly banter than the previous times she's been insulted by Slappy. 

"...did you really help me because you didn't want to be stuck with my family without me?" 

Slappy eyes her for a moment before looking ahead.  
"You could've left me on the road. But you didn't. I don't like owing people." 

Amy gave him a curious look before looking at her watch.  
"Oh...George is coming home today."  
"George?"  
"Our cat...you know the orange one? He had a check up with the vet so..." 

"Oh...the orange one."  
"He's our only cat. He's a sweet orange tabby. And he's declawed in his front paws so he doesn't ruin the furniture."  
"Hm. No wonder he didn't bother me on my way to Sara's room." 

"...huh?" 

"When I went to Sara's room to mess up her painting he was laying in the hallway. He just sniffed me and went back to lay down..." 

Amy blinked, feeling her throat close up. Slappy could've hurt George that night, but he didn't. She tilted her head. 

"You like cats?"  
"Once they don't scratch me. Or make tornadoes..."  
"...what?"  
"Inside joke." 

Amy just scratched her head and shrugged off his weird statement, going in the bathroom quietly. 

"...Tornadoes?"  
_________________________________________ 

"So what're you going to do about school Amy? Dad's gotta go to work. I don't think mom will appreciate being left alone with Slappy." 

Said dummy-boy scowled at the statement but made no comment. Amy sighed from her spot on her bed as Jed tried to fix his messy bed head. 

"I have no idea Jed...I don't know what I'm gonna do about Dr. Palmer or my mother or Slappy." She says, sounding exhausted even though she just woke up. 

Dennis was sitting and picking at the blanket quietly, looking over to Slappy every few minutes.  
"...stupid Slappy...and his dumb big feet..." 

Slappy looked at Dennis slowly.  
"...you make me ashamed to be a dummy y'know that? The whole world of ginger jokes and the best you can do is insult my feet?" 

Dennis stuck his tongue out at Slappy, something Amy didn't even know he could do until a few months ago, along with the fact that he was able to eat. 

"...to be fair you do have big feet." Jed looks over.  
"...I'm a size 8 and a ha- oh why am I even talking to you about this shut up." 

Mr. Kramer knocks on Amy's open door.  
"Knock knock?" He smiles slowly.  
Amy looks and sits up.  
"Dad?"  
"I got someone here to cheer you up."  
At the sight of the orange tabby in his arms, Amy sat up. 

"George!" 

The cat leaped from Mr. Kramer's arms, trotted right pass the bed and hopped on Slappy's lap. 

"And suddenly I wish he was adopted..."  
"Dennis!" 

Slappy made a face as George made himself comfortable on the redhead's lap after sniffing him a couple of times. "...did you fall in catnip or something?" Jed looks and snorts.  
"...no he probably just smells my cat on me. Get off me Garfield." He tossed George to Amy. 

"You have a cat?" Jed snickers but Slappy simply got off the windowsill and stood, looking at Mr. Kramer who was staring at him, before he looks at Amy. 

George meows and paws Slappy's foot, making him raise his eyebrow. 

"You kids should come down for breakfast." Mr. Kramer says slowly, his eyes lingering on Slappy again.  
"What?"  
"That uh...includes you son." 

Slappy stares at him for a bit before he shrugs and sighs.  
"Yeah whatever. Thanks." 

Amy did a double take. Did he really just thank someone? Mr. Kramer himself seemed rather surprised before he collected himself and give an awkward nod before he left the room. 

Slappy realizes he's getting looks from Amy and Jed and crosses his arms.  
"What?"  
"Just didn't think that thanking people was even in your vocabulary." Amy says slowly. 

He rolls his eyes and just walks out of her room with George trotting after his feet eagerly. Great. Now even her cat wasn't on her side. She slowly slides off the bed and picks Dennis up, trailing down after Slappy quietly. 

Jed followed, mumbling something about sardines as Amy slowly walked to the dining table, mumbling a half hearted 'good morning' to her mother and sitting down. Slappy stood by the kitchen counter, his usual scowl replaced by wide eyed curiousity at Mrs. Kramer's computer she left open. He pushes a key and his head pulls back when the screen lights up, much like George does when something startles him. 

It was weird. Seeing him act so curious. Those kinds of behavior are usually associated with something innocent or naive, not evil and manipulative. Mrs. Kramer made no move to take her laptop away, but Amy suspected it was out of fear of the boy getting angry, rather than her finding his actions amusing. 

"Alright Kramer family breakfast time!" Mr. Kramer comes placing the last plate of bacon on the table.  
"Sweet!" Jed sits and reaches but Sara slaps his hand.  
"Last time you barely left any for us!" 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Kramer tried to share the bacon themselves, while Amy placed Dennis in his high chair, then looks at Slappy. Who was just standing there. 

Her brows knitted in confusion. He hadn't eaten a thing yesterday. And even if he had a snack last night, wouldn't he be hungry now? He was staring at her parents, shuffling from one foot to the other in an almost awkward fashion, which was unlike his obnoxiously boisterous behavior. She wanted to laugh. Was he really too shy to ask if he could sit at the table? 

Mr. Kramer seemed to notice him a bit after, and motions to the unoccupied seat between himself at the head of the table and Jed to his right. Slappy's flat expression quickly sank into a scowl again as he walked over, sitting down silently. He looked so out of his element, God did Amy wish she had a camera on her to snap a picture of his face. 

"Bacon?" Jed held the plate to Slappy.  
"I don't eat pig meat." He shakes his head.  
"Really? Why? Too fatty?" Jed snorts.  
"Well that's one of the...normal...reasons..." Slappy mumbles, reaching and putting some toast on his plate, along with eggs. 

"You kids better hurry and get dressed after this. Don't want to be late for school." Mr. Kramer looks, sipping his coffee.  
Jed forks some eggs in his mouth, turning his attention back to Slappy.  
"You ever been to school?"  
"No I was homeschooled..." 

Amy lifted her head curiously at that. 

"Man...I wish I could do that...must be nice. You're at home n' stuff. Can use your own wifi."  
"...what's wifi?" 

It was so surreal. Was this really the same Slappy that terrorized her three years ago? Here he was, sitting calmly at her table, having breakfast with her family and even conversing normally. Well, as normally as he could. As for Mrs. Kramer? Well her jaw was set tight every time she looked in his direction. 

"Dude you got to try this." Jed held up the hot sauce for the eggs, "mom makes it herself." 

Slappy tilts his head.  
"I see..."  
"Doesn't your mother cook?" 

The gasp left her lips before she could stop it as Slappy coughs and nearly spits out the juice he had taken a sip off, barely managing to slam the cup down before it slipped from his hand. The table had gone extremely quiet, and for a second, Amy got really concerned for Jed's wellbeing, before Slappy cleared his throat and picked up his fork. 

"I don't have a mother."  
"What? Everyone has a mother. Else where would you come from? A tree?"  
"Well the wood I was carved from came from a tree." 

Jed's mouth snapped shut. It was hard to remember that Slappy was still a dummy, seeing him so human. The atmosphere at the table felt heavy now. Too heavy. And Dennis didn't like it. 

With a hard swing, he waved his fork, and the egg pieces on it flew off. 

Right into Slappy's face. 

The bacon piece in Jed's mouth comically falls onto his plate as Slappy slowly lifts his head, eyes on Dennis. But the small dummy was far to pleased with himself to even notice the glint in his eyes. 

"Dennis! Apologize!" Amy looks, but was clearly on the verge of laughing.  
And Slappy definitely noticed.  
"Laugh. I dare you." He looks as the egg slowly begins sliding down his cheek, leaving an oily trail. 

She couldn't even stop to think before she burst into laughter. Jed himself started giggling like a maniac at Slappy's very disgruntled expression. The redhead turns and picks up a piece of toast and slapped it on Jed's face, but it only made the younger laugh harder. Mr. Kramer chuckles.  
"Don't play with your food kids."   
"Gross you sound like my old man."  
"...you have a dad?"  
"Well somebody carved me booger brain."  
"Hey!" 

Any tension Amy felt was lifted off her shoulders. Even her father was chuckling at Slappy's jabs and taunts.  
"Well Slappy...since you're not enrolled in high school...I guess that means you're going to be home with..." Mr. Kramer trails off and looks at his wife. 

Both Slappy and Mrs. Kramer looked at each other very slowly, before Slappy slowly picked up his fork.  
"Oh boy." Jed mumbles.


End file.
